Arizona Rail Passenger Association

By John J. Gale

Imagine standing in the middle of a freeway as cars, trucks and motorcycles rush by on either side. Maybe you have experienced this if you have waited for a train at an in-median station. I have in LA on the Metro Green Line which is located in the median of Interstate 105 (Century Freeway), and certainly there are such stations in other locations around the country such as Chicago and the Bay Area. It is not particularly fun to wait for a train at these types of station. Now imagine doing that in Phoenix when it’s 110! Read the rest of this entry »

Enough people would board a train in the Valley’s suburbs that a future commuter-rail system would be as popular as some of the busiest lines in the West, new studies have found.

A trio of yearlong rail studies, in nearly final form, indicates commuter rail could carry almost 18,000 passengers a day by 2030. Planners at the Maricopa Association of Governments say, based on the findings, they favor a 105-mile, X-shaped system that could feature 33 stations and cost roughly $1.5 billion. That’s a little more than the Valley’s 20-mile, light-rail starter line.

The commuter-rail network would use existing freight track through downtown Phoenix
, with lines from Queen Creek to Buckeye and from Chandler to Wittmann…

Rest of the story in the Arizona Republic

According to the East Valley Tribune (see full story in the 15 March edition):

Mayor Hugh Hallman’s re-election was practically assured before the polls opened… Hallman, the only mayoral candidate on the ballot, received 12,839 votes, according to the official results…

Hallman, in an Arizona Republic Election Question Special, said:

…we need to continue our lead in moving the outer communities to commuter rail options to reduce the growing pressure on local freeways..

Also according to the Tribune,

Mark Mitchell [incumbent] was the only candidate to win outright… The other incumbent in the race, Hut Hutson, did not win outright and faces a four-way runoff on May 20 for the remaining two seats against challengers Julie Jakubek, Joel Navarro and Corey Woods…

Mitchell, in the Republic special, said he wants to work on:

working with our Scottsdale and Chandler city councils to extend light rail to their communities. …[and] start looking at whether commuter rail would help alleviate congestion on our roadways.

by Glen Creno in The Arizona Republic, Feb. 29, 2008

Plans for passenger rail in Arizona are moving forward, but significant hurdles remain before any system is built.

The Maricopa Association of Governments has released a long-awaited draft of its commuter-rail study, which outlines three options that would haul commuters from Phoenix suburbs into job centers in the central city. At the same time, key players in developing high-speed rail between Phoenix and Tucson have joined together to seek money to plan a system…

Rest of the story in the Arizona Republic

The Maricopa Association of Governments Commuter Rail Strategic Plan is now available for download from: http://www.mag.maricopa.gov/project.cms?item=7338